Textile thread and fabric



Patented Oct. 18, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlca 2.1 3.435 'mx'rmnTHREAD AND r'snmc William Alexander Dickie and Robert Wighton Moncrieff,Spondon, near Derby, England, as- .signors to Celaneee Corporation ofAmerica, a

corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Original applications May 17, 1932,Serial Nos. 611,922 and 611,924. Divided and this application October20, 1936, Serial No. 100,614. In Great'Britain June 4, 1931 acclaim.

struction highly twisted yarns of natural silk inthe gummed state, thecrepe efi'ects appearing more particularly when the fabric issubiectedto scouring in an aqueous bath. The fabrics obtained by this processhave long been highly valued on account of their pleasing-appearance andhandle. The production of crepe fabrics in an analogous manner by theuse of highly twisted yarns of cellulose acetate filaments has howeverbeen accompanied by very considerable difilculties. In many cases it isfound that little or no crepe effect is obtained unless a very considepable degree of twist is imparted to the crpe .threads. Further, whenthis degree of twist is sufllcient to lead to the production of crepeeffects comparable with those obtainable by means of natural silk, it isfound that the strength of the resulting fabrics is frequently so low=asto render them commercially valueless.

We have now found that in utilizing highly twisted cellulose acetateyarns in the manufacture of crepe fabrics agreat improvement,particularly as regards the strength of the finished fabrics, may beeffected by subjecting the yarn to the'action of water vapour or bywetting the at least part of the crepe twist is applied thereto.

For example a cellulose acetate yarn of about 100 denier and containingabout 25 filaments may be twisted to 25 to 30 turns per inch or more andthen subjected to the action of steam at about -105 C., i. e. under apressure below or slightly above that of the atmosphere, or then wettedthoroughly with water. The so treated yarn is thereafter twisted to60-70 turns per inch and utilized as the weft of a fabric, pairs ofpicks of right-hand twist alternating with pairs of picks of left-handtwist. The fabric may then be scoured andfinished, whereupon a fabricexhibiting excellent crepe efi'ectsand of very good propertiesasregardsstrength may be obtained.

Ifthe treatment with steam or water is omitted the resulting fabrics mayexhibit a serious reduction in strength in the direction of the highlytwisted yarns.

In the manufacture of the crepe threads in accordance with ourinvention, the requisite high degree of twist is thus applied in atleast two stageswith intermediate treatment of the yarn with watervapour or with water'or other aqueous liquid. If desired the twistingmay be accomplished in three or more stages, the yarn being wetted ortreated with water vapour between any or all of the stages. Further, ifdesired, the yarn may be subjected, in addition, to water vapourtreatment before twisting or. after the total amount of twist has beenapplied.

The degree of twist employed in the crpe threads may vary within widelimits. and according to the nature of the yarn and of the filamentscontained therein. Thus, for instance,

a total twist of from 55 to or '70 turns per inch may be employed,though higher twist may be employed if desired, for example a twist of-85or more turns per inch. Yarn composed of fine filaments isadvantageous in that it a'dsteamed or wetted, andthereupon an additional55 turns per inch applied to give the necessary total twist. Again, ifdesired 40 turns per inch may first be applied and 25 turns per inch inthe second stage. In an analogous manner when three or more stages areemployed the twist may be divided between the .various stages in anydesired manner. As indicated previously, however, in the case of yarn ofabout denier and containing about 25 filaments very good results may beobtained by applying about 25 turns perinch in the first stage.

In practice, it has been found particularly ad vantageous to apply inthe first place a degree of twist of the order of that necessary tocause a close packing of the filamentsof the yarn and then to treat thelatter with water vapour or water and thereafter toimp'art' the degreeof twist necessary to give rise to crepe eflects of the desiredcharacter. In the case of 100 denier 26 filament yarn the desired closepacking is secured by the application of about 25 turns per men. It willbe appreciated that the exact degree of twist necessary to give thedesired close packing of the filaments is dependent in any particularThus for yarns of a given total denier the twist required to effectclose packing is greater the smaller the number of filaments. Again, foryarns containing a given number of filaments the desirable first stagetwist varies inversely as the diameter of the filaments or the squareroot of the filament denier. In general for yarns of between '70 and1'70 denier and containing from to 70 filaments the degree of twistapplied before the wetting operation will be between about 10 and turnsper inch.

The twisting of the yarns may be eflected in any convenient manner. Ithas been found advantageous however, particularly when applying thesecond or subsequent stage of twist, to utilize twisting devices of thetype in which the yarn is twisted as it is drawn all from a rotatingpackage and to prevent the applied twist running back to the bobbin.This result may very conveniently be attained by means of the devicedescribed in U. S. Patent No. 1,784,581.

The crepe effects obtained appear to be dependent chiefly upon thedegree of twist imparted after the steam or water treatment and are tosome extent independent of the degree of twist applied before the steamor water treatment particularly if the said degree of twist is not muchbelow that required to effect close packing of the filaments. It has infact been found that the character or extent of the crepe effectsfinally obtained in the fabricsmay be controlled to some extent byvarying the proportion of twist applied after a steaming or wettingtreatment. The amount of twist imparted in the final stage or stagesfollowing packing of the filaments into a firm thread will thus dependto a certain extent on the denier of the yarns and on the type of crpeefiect to be produced. In general a good figure is obtained on thefabrics by the use of a' total twist of 60-65 to upwards of 85 turns perinch.

In the treatment of the yarns in accordance with the present invention,the steam maybe employed under any desired pressure and at any desiredtemperature, for example at pressures below or slightly above that ofthe atmosphere, and at temperatures corresponding to the boiling pointof water at those pressures. The steam may be saturated or wet. Verygood results may be obtained for instance by using steam at pressures upto 5 lbs. per square inch below or above atmospheric pressure, thoughhigher pressures, for example 10-20 lbs. per square inch or more, may beused if desired. Water may be applied to the yarns at a temperature of80 C. up to or even above the boiling point.

The yarns may be steamed or treated with hot water in the course of oneof the twisting operations utilized to apply the requisite twist to theyarn. Conveniently the yarn may be passed through a suitable chamberwhich may for instance take the form of a tube supplied with steam ofthe desired temperature. If desired the steam may be applied to the yarnat the point at which the twist is actually applied. For this purpose,in the case of using a twisting machine of the type in which twist isapplied as the yarn is drawn off from a bobbin or like package, thethread guide immediately above the bobbin from which the yarn is drawnofi may be mounted at the point of entry of the yarn into the tube orlike chamber in which the steam is applied, or the thread guide mayactually be within the said tube or like chamber. Preferably the steamis applied only in the minimum quantity necessary to secure the desiredeffect on the yarn in order that escape of steam and the consequentlikelihood of troubles arising from the rusting of machinery and thelike may be avoided as far as possible.

If desired hygroscopic or deliquescent substances or wetting agents 1.e. agents facilitating the wetting of solids by water, may be applied toor incorporated in the yarns prior to a twisting operation or a steamingor wetting treatment. As examples of such wetting agents may bementioned soaps of organic or inorganic bases with higher fatty acids,for example alkali metal, ammonium or ethanolamine soaps, sulphonatedoils, sulphonic acids of alkyl naphthalenes for example butylnaphthalene sulphonic acid, and sulphonic acids or sulphuric esters ofhigher aliphatic alcohols or of mineral oils, tar oils and v the like.Mention may also be made of wetting agents of a basic character, forexample the higher poly-amines of the aliphatic series and basicderivatives of the higher fatty acids, for instance oleyl derivatives ofaliphatic diamines or other higher fatty acid derivatives of thischaracter.

Such hygroscopic or deliquescent substances or wetting agents may beapplied to the yarns, or if desired may be incorporated in spinningsolutions from which the yarns are prepared. For example, celluloseacetate solutions containing hygroscopic substances, for instance sodiumor potassium acetate or calcium or magnesium chloride or nitrate may bespun into filaments and the latter formed into yarns and treated inaccordance with the invention.

Such wetting agents may be applied in conjunction with the hot waterused for a wetting treatment. I

After the operation of steaming or wetting with hot water the yarn maybe allowed to stand for a time. In order to obtain a thread capable ofgiving rise to crepe effects, further twist is applied to the yarndirectly or after subjecting the yarn to a drying operation in order toremove a part or the whole of any moisture content.

However, after the twisting operation effected while the thread. isunder the influence of steam or hot water, i. e. at a stage when thetwist in the thread is insufficient to impart crping power to thethread, the thread is per se useful and moreover the process ofproducing such a thread is novel, 1. e. the process which consists inapplying to the thread while under the influence of steam or hot water atwist insufficient to impart crping power thereto. The purpose of thepresent divisional application is to claim the production of thesethreads having a twist lower than a crping twist by this novel process.

We have further found that hot water may be applied in the form of afine spray. Thus for instance during the twisting operation, a very finespray of heated water may be applied to the yarn. Such spray of watermay be applied in restricted quantities so as to avoid as far aspossible any rusting of the machinery. The spray may for instance beapplied in a closed chamber, for example a chamber of tubular formthrough which the yarn 'is passed. The apparatus previously referred toas suitable for use in applying steam may be employed if desired.

If desired lubricants may be applied to the yarns which are to receivethe twist, especially while the yarns have no twist or at any rate onlya low degree of twist. Such lubricant, for example, olive oil or castoroil or oleic acid, assists the filaments to slide easily over each otherso that they may more readily take up their proper position in the yarn,particularly during the early stages of twisting, prior and up to thepoint at which close packing is reached. Such lubricant may be permittedto remain in the yarns throughout the twisting, when it may be removedafter incorporation of the yarns in fabrics.

The invention is of particular value in connection with the productionof fabrics with the aid of yarns consisting of cellulose acetatefilaments. Yarns comprising filaments of other organic derivatives ofcellulose may be employed in an analogous manner. As examples of suchcellulose derivatives may be mentioned cellulose formate, propionate orbutyrate or other cellulose esters of organic acids, or methyl, ethyl orbenzyl cellulose or other cellulose ethers. If desired yarns consistingof or comprising filaments of other materials may be employed, forexample filaments of silk, cotton, or of artificial silk of theregenerated cellulose type. The yarns may also be composed of filamentsof two or more different kinds whether in respect of material or denieror both. Thus there may be used threads containing both filaments ofcellulose esters or ethers and filaments of natural silk -or regeneratedcellulose artificial silk, or threads containing cellulose ester orether filaments of two or more different deniers, or threads containingfilaments of one cellulose derivative e. g. an ester in admixture withfilaments of another cellulose derivative e. g. an ester of differentester content or an ether. Further the yarns may consist, wholly or inpart, of staple fibre", i. e. relatively short lengths of filaments.

The threads may be incorporated in the fabrics in any suitable manner,for example the weft alone may be wholly or partially composed of suchthreads or the warp may also contain them. They may be disposed inthefabrics in any convenient manner, for example pairs of threads ofleft-hand twist may alternate with pairs of threads of right-hand twist.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. Process for the manufacture of textile threads, whichconsists intwisting the thread to a degree lower than a creping twist and applyinga hot aqueous fluid to the thread during the actual insertion of saidtwist, the total twist applied to the thread being insuflicient toimpart creping power thereto.

2. Process for the manufacture of textile threads, which consists intwisting the thread to a degreelower than a creping twist and applyingsteam to the thread during the actual insertion of said twist, the totaltwist applied to the thread being insuiiieient to impart creping powerthereto.

3. Process for the manufacture of textile threads, which consists inapplying twist to a thread to a degree lower than a creping twist andsteaming the thread during the actual insertion of said twist, the totaltwist applied to the thread being insumcient to impart creping powerthereto.

4. Process for the manufacture of textile threads, which consists inapplying twist .to a thread to a degree lower than a creping twistwhilst the thread is under the influence of wet steam, the total twistapplied being insufiicient to impart creping power to the thread.

5 Process for the manufacture of textile threads, which consists inapplying twist to a thread of cellulose acetate filaments to a degreelower than a creping twist and steaming the thread at the point at whichsaid twist is actually applied, the total twist applied beinginsufilcient to impart creping power to the thread. 6. Process for themanufacture of textile threads, which consists in twisting a threadcomposed of artificial cellulosic filaments to a degree lower than acreping twist and applying a hot aqueous fluid to the thread during theactual insertion of said twist, the total twist applied to the threadbeing insufilcient to impart creping power thereto.

'7. Process for the manufacture of textile threads, which consists intwisting a thread composed of artificial cellulosic filaments to adegree lowerthan a creping twist and applying steam to the thread duringthe actual insertionof said twist, the total twist applied to the threadbeing insufficient to impart creping power thereto.

8. Process for the manufacture of textile threads, which consists intwisting a thread composed of artificial cellulosic filaments to adegree lower than a creping twist and applying wet steam to the threadduring the actual insertion of said twist, the total twist applied tothe thread being insufiicient to impart creping power thereto.

9. Process for the manufacture of textile threads, which consists intwisting a thread composed of cellulose acetate filaments to a degreelower than a creping twistand applying a hot aqueous fluid to the threadduring the actual insertion of said twist, the total twistapplied to thethread being insuflicient to impart creping power thereto.

10. Process for the manufacture of textile threads, which consists intwisting a thread composed of cellulose acetate filaments to a degreelower than a creping twist and applying wet steam to the thread duringthe actual insertion of said twist, the total twist applied to thethread being insufficient to impart creping power thereto.

WILLIAM ALEXANDER DICKIE. ROBERT WIGHTON MONCRIEFF.

